Tomczyk Becomes ABT Sportsline Director

2011 DTM champion Martin Tomczyk has been appointed as the new director of ABT Sportsline. The 41-year-old German will coordinate all of the company’s motorsport activities in future and report directly to Hans-Jürgen Abt and Thomas Biermaier as part of his new role.

In 2023, Tomczyk will initially focus on the GT3 activities with Audi in the DTM and Lamborghini in the NLS. Beyond that, he will gradually familiarise himself with the other projects with the CUPRA brand in electric racing.

For Martin Tomczyk, it is a case of “coming home”: As a 19-year-old, he began his successful DTM career with ABT Sportsline in 2001, rising from being a junior to becoming an Audi factory driver in the process. Tomczyk competed for ABT Sportsline in the DTM for a decade. He celebrated four of his seven victories in the most important German racing series with race cars from ABT Sportsline.

This change of position follows his involvement behind the scenes at DTM after retiring, in which he took over the series management of the DTM platform under Gerhard Berger in 2022.

“Martin Tomczyk gained a lot of respect as a series manager of the DTM last year and did an excellent job from our point of view,” says Thomas Biermaier, CEO of ABT Sportsline. “After the sale of the DTM brand to the ADAC, we started talking and quickly realised that we would complement each other perfectly. I am very pleased that we came to an agreement quickly and that Martin Tomczyk will be strengthening our team as a manager with immediate effect.”

“After the realignment of the DTM, I started to look elsewhere,” says Martin Tomczyk. “ABT Sportsline is one of the most successful racing teams in the world and my motorsport home. The contact has never broken off after all of these years. I still know many of the people involved, so the familiarisation period shouldn’t take long. I am very much looking forward to my new task. I’ve been at home in GT3 racing for many years, so I can add my experience in this area straight away. But I’m also already very excited about Formula E and Extreme E. The portfolio at ABT Sportsline is fascinating.”

“With the DTM, Formula E, Extreme E and the Nürburgring 24 Hours, this year we are managing the most extensive motorsport programme in the history of our company and, at the same time, driving the expansion of ABT Sportsline in many areas,” says Hans-Jürgen ABT, CEO of ABT SE. “Accordingly, we also have to adapt our structures and management. Martin’s father was a successful motorsport manager. You can feel that Martin has learned a lot from him. On top of that, he has history at ABT Sportsline and is someone you simply enjoy talking to. He is a perfect fit and will help us move forward in motorsport.”

Image courtesy of ABT